scholarly journals Physical Processes in the Large Scale ISM from Dust Observations

1998 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 153-164
Author(s):  
F. Boulanger

Over the last two decades observations of dust emission in the infrared have played an important role in the development of research on the interstellar medium. The study of the spectral energy distribution has led to the discovery of small dust particles including the large aromatic molecules (PAHs). Infrared sky images have been used to study the structure of interstellar matter, the evolution of dust within the interstellar medium and the star formation efficiency of interstellar clouds.

2020 ◽  
Vol 633 ◽  
pp. A47 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Hocdé ◽  
N. Nardetto ◽  
E. Lagadec ◽  
G. Niccolini ◽  
A. Domiciano de Souza ◽  
...  

Context. The infrared (IR) excess of classical Cepheids is seldom studied and poorly understood despite observational evidence and the potential for its contribution to induce systematics on the period-luminosity (PL) relation used in the calibration of the extragalactic distance scale. Aims. This study aims to understand the physical origin of the IR excess found in the spectral energy distribution (SED) of 5 Cepheids: RS Pup (P = 41.46d), ζ Gem (P = 10.15d), η Aql (P = 7.18d), V Cen (P = 5.49d) and SU Cyg (P = 3.85d). Methods. A time series of atmospheric models along the pulsation cycle were fitted to a compilation of data, including optical and near-IR photometry, Spitzer spectra (secured at a specific phase), interferometric angular diameters, effective temperature estimates, and radial velocity measurements. Herschel images in two bands were also analyzed qualitatively. In this fitting process, based on the SPIPS algorithm, a residual was found in the SED, whatever the pulsation phase, and for wavelengths larger than about 1.2 μm, which corresponds to the so-determined infrared excess of Cepheids. This IR excess was then corrected from interstellar medium absorption in order to infer the presence (or absence) of dust shells and was, ultimately, used in order to fit a model for a shell of ionized gas. Results. For all Cepheids, we find a continuum IR excess increasing up to approximately −0.1 magnitudes at 30 μm, which cannot be explained by a hot or cold dust model of CircumStellar Environment (CSE). However, a weak but significant dust emission at 9.7 μm is found for ζ Gem, η Aql and RS Pup, while clear interstellar clouds are seen in the Herschel images for V Cen and RS Pup. We show, for the first time, that the IR excess of Cepheids can be explained by free–free emission from a thin shell of ionized gas, with a thickness of ≃15% of the star radius, a mass of 10−9−10−7M⊙ and a temperature ranging between 3500 and 4500 K. Conclusions. The presence of a thin shell of ionized gas around Cepheids must be tested with interferometers operating in the visible or mid-IR, or using radio telescopes. The impact of such CSEs of ionized gas on the PL relation of Cepheids also calls for further investigation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (4) ◽  
pp. 4319-4337
Author(s):  
Manisha Shrestha ◽  
Hilding R Neilson ◽  
Jennifer L Hoffman ◽  
Richard Ignace ◽  
Andrew G Fullard

ABSTRACT We study the polarization produced by scattering from dust in a bow shock-shaped region of enhanced density surrounding a stellar source, using the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code SLIP. Bow shocks are structures formed by the interaction of the winds of fast-moving stars with the interstellar medium. Our previous study focused on the polarization produced in these structures by electron scattering; we showed that polarization is highly dependent on inclination angle and that multiple scattering changes the shape and degree of polarization. In contrast to electron scattering, dust scattering is wavelength-dependent, which changes the polarization behaviour. Here, we explore different dust particle sizes and compositions and generate polarized spectral energy distributions for each case. We find that the polarization spectral energy distribution behaviour depends on the dust composition and grain size. Including dust emission leads to polarization changes with temperature at higher optical depth in ways that are sensitive to the orientation of the bow shock. In various scenarios and under certain assumptions, our simulations can constrain the optical depth and dust properties of resolved and unresolved bow shock-shaped scattering regions. Constraints on optical depth can provide estimates of local interstellar medium density for observed bow shocks. We also study the impact of dust grains filling the region between the star and bow shock. We see that as the density of dust between the star and bow shock increases, the resulting polarization is suppressed for all the optical depth regimes.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S237) ◽  
pp. 47-52
Author(s):  
François Boulanger

AbstractUnderstanding interstellar dust evolution is a major challenge underlying the interpretation of Spitzer observations of interstellar clouds, star forming regions and galaxies. I illustrate on-going work along two directions. I outline the potential impact of interstellar turbulence on the abundance of small dust particles in the diffuse interstellar medium and translucent sections of molecular clouds. I present results from an analysis of ISO and Spitzer observations of the central part of 30 Doradus, looking for dust evolution related to the radiative and dynamical impact of the R136 super star cluster on its parent molecular cloud.


2001 ◽  
Vol 204 ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
François Boulanger ◽  
Jean-Philippe Bernard ◽  
Guilaine Lagache ◽  
Bertrand Stepnik

We review the present understanding of the interstellar dust contribution to the far-IR (λ > 100 μm) sky emission. We show how the contribution from the distinct ISM components (HI, H2, HII gas) are identified and characterized through spatial correlation with gas emission lines. We discuss the spectral energy distribution of the emission from cirrus dust associated with diffuse HI gas and from colder dust associated with molecular gas. We relate the drop in dust emission temperature from the diffuse interstellar medium to molecular gas to an evolution of dust affecting both the abundance of small dust grains and the far-IR emissivity of large grains.


2017 ◽  
Vol 604 ◽  
pp. A52 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bracco ◽  
P. Palmeirim ◽  
Ph. André ◽  
R. Adam ◽  
P. Ade ◽  
...  

The characterization of dust properties in the interstellar medium is key for understanding the physics and chemistry of star formation. Mass estimates are crucial to determine gravitational collapse conditions for the birth of new stellar objects in molecular clouds. However, most of these estimates rely on dust models that need further observational constraints to capture the relevant parameter variations depending on the local environment: from clouds to prestellar and protostellar cores. We present results of a new study of dust emissivity changes based on millimeter continuum data obtained with the NIKA camera at the IRAM-30 m telescope. Observing dust emission at 1.15 mm and 2 mm allows us to constrain the dust emissivity index, β, in the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of the dust spectral energy distribution far from its peak emission, where the contribution of other parameters (i.e. dust temperature) is more important. Focusing on the Taurus molecular cloud, one of the most famous low-mass star-forming regions in the Gould Belt, we analyze the emission properties of several distinct objects in the B213 filament. This subparsec-sized region is of particular interest since it is characterized by a collection ofevolutionary stages of early star formation: three prestellar cores, two Class 0/I protostellar cores and one Class II object. We are therefore able to compare dust properties among a sequence of sources that likely derive from the same parent filament. By means of the ratio of the two NIKA channel maps, we show that in the Rayleigh-Jeans approximation, βRJ varies among the objects: it decreases from prestellar cores (βRJ ~ 2) to protostellar cores (βRJ ~ 1) and the Class II object (βRJ ~ 0). For one prestellar and two protostellar cores, we produce a robust study using available Herschel data to constrain the dust temperature of the sources. By using the Abel transform inversion technique we derive accurate radial temperature profiles that allow us to obtain radial β profiles. We find systematic spatial variations of β in the protostellar cores that are not observed in the prestellar core. While in the former case β decreases toward the center (with β varying between 1 and 2), in the latter it remains constant (β = 2.4 ± 0.3). Moreover, the dust emissivity index appears anticorrelated with the dust temperature. We discuss the implication of these results in terms of dust grain evolution between pre- and protostellar cores.


2019 ◽  
Vol 631 ◽  
pp. A38 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Lianou ◽  
P. Barmby ◽  
A. A. Mosenkov ◽  
M. Lehnert ◽  
O. Karczewski

Aims. We derived the dust properties for 753 local galaxies and examine how these relate to some of their physical properties. We present the derived dust emission properties, including model spectral energy distribution (SEDs), star formation rates (SFRs) and stellar masses, as well as their relations. Methods. We modelled the global dust-SEDs for 753 galaxies, treated statistically as an ensemble within a hierarchical Bayesian dust-SED modelling approach, so as to derive their infrared (IR) emission properties. To create the observed dust-SEDs, we used a multi-wavelength set of observations, ranging from near-IR to far-IR-to-submillimeter wavelengths. The model-derived properties are the dust masses (Mdust), the average interstellar radiation field intensities (Uav), the mass fraction of very small dust grains (“QPAH” fraction), as well as their standard deviations. In addition, we used mid-IR observations to derive SFR and stellar masses, quantities independent of the dust-SED modelling. Results. We derive distribution functions of the properties for the galaxy ensemble and as a function of galaxy type. The mean value of Mdust for the early-type galaxies (ETGs) is lower than that for the late-type and irregular galaxies (LTGs and Irs, respectively), despite ETGs and LTGs having stellar masses spanning across the whole range observed. The Uav and “QPAH” fraction show no difference among different galaxy types. When fixing Uav to the Galactic value, the derived “QPAH” fraction varies across the Galactic value (0.071). The specific SFR increases with galaxy type, while this is not the case for the dust-specific SFR (SFR/Mdust), showing an almost constant star formation efficiency per galaxy type. The galaxy sample is characterised by a tight relationship between the dust mass and the stellar mass for the LTGs and Irs, while ETGs scatter around this relation and tend towards smaller dust masses. While the relation indicates that Mdust may fundamentally be linked to M⋆, metallicity and Uav are the second parameter driving the scatter, which we investigate in a forthcoming work. We used the extended Kennicutt–Schmidt (KS) law to estimate the gas mass and the gas-to-dust mass ratio (GDR). The gas mass derived from the extended KS law is on average ∼20% higher than that derived from the KS law, and a large standard deviation indicates the importance of the average star formation present to regulate star formation and gas supply. The average GDR for the LTGs and Irs is 370, and including the ETGs gives an average of 550.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (36) ◽  
pp. 21873-21879
Author(s):  
A. Wallner ◽  
J. Feige ◽  
L. K. Fifield ◽  
M. B. Froehlich ◽  
R. Golser ◽  
...  

Nuclides synthesized in massive stars are ejected into space via stellar winds and supernova explosions. The solar system (SS) moves through the interstellar medium and collects these nucleosynthesis products. One such product is60Fe, a radionuclide with a half-life of 2.6 My that is predominantly produced in massive stars and ejected in supernova explosions. Extraterrestrial60Fe has been found on Earth, suggesting close-by supernova explosions ∼2 to 3 and ∼6 Ma. Here, we report on the detection of a continuous interstellar60Fe influx on Earth over the past ∼33,000 y. This time period coincides with passage of our SS through such interstellar clouds, which have a significantly larger particle density compared to the local average interstellar medium embedding our SS for the past few million years. The interstellar60Fe was extracted from five deep-sea sediment samples and accelerator mass spectrometry was used for single-atom counting. The low number of 19 detected atoms indicates a continued but low influx of interstellar60Fe. The measured60Fe time profile over the 33 ky, obtained with a time resolution of about ±9 ky, does not seem to reflect any large changes in the interstellar particle density during Earth’s passage through local interstellar clouds, which could be expected if the local cloud represented an isolated remnant of the most recent supernova ejecta that traversed the Earth ∼2 to 3 Ma. The identified60Fe influx may signal a late echo of some million-year-old supernovae with the60Fe-bearing dust particles still permeating the interstellar medium.


2019 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
pp. A61 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Lodieu ◽  
F. Allard ◽  
C. Rodrigo ◽  
Y. Pavlenko ◽  
A. Burgasser ◽  
...  

Aims. The aim of the project is to define metallicity/gravity/temperature scales for different spectral types of metal-poor M dwarfs. Methods. We obtained intermediate-resolution ultraviolet (R ∼ 3300), optical (R ∼ 5400), and near-infrared (R ∼ 3900) spectra of 43 M subdwarfs (sdM), extreme subdwarfs (esdM), and ultra-subdwarfs (usdM) with the X-shooter spectrograph on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope. We compared our atlas of spectra to the latest BT-Settl synthetic spectral energy distribution over a wide range of metallicities, gravities, and effective temperatures to infer the physical properties for the whole M dwarf sequence (M0–M9.5) at sub-solar metallicities and constrain the latest atmospheric models. Results. The BT-Settl models accurately reproduce the observed spectra across the 450–2500 nm wavelength range except for a few regions. We find that the best fits are obtained for gravities of log (g) = 5.0–5.5 for the three metal classes. We infer metallicities of [Fe/H] = −0.5, −1.5, and −2.0 ± 0.5 dex and effective temperatures of 3700–2600 K, 3800–2900 K, and 3700–2900 K for subdwarfs, extreme subdwarfs, and ultra-subdwarfs, respectively. Metal-poor M dwarfs tend to be warmer by about 200 ± 100 K and exhibit higher gravity than their solar-metallicity counterparts. We derive abundances of several elements (Fe, Na, K, Ca, Ti) for our sample but cannot describe their atmospheres with a single metallicity parameter. Our metallicity scale expands the current scales available for mildly metal-poor planet-host low-mass stars. Our compendium of moderate-resolution spectra covering the 0.45–2.5 micron range represents an important resource for large-scale surveys and space missions to come.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S292) ◽  
pp. 259-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Onaka

AbstractInfrared (IR) observations provide significant information on the lifecycle of dust grains in the interstellar medium (ISM), which is crucial for the understanding of the evolution of matter in the universe. The IR spectral energy distribution (SED) of the dust emission tells us the relative abundance of sub-micron grains, very small grains, and carriers of the unidentified infrared (UIR) emission bands, since they emit the far-IR, the mid-IR, and the UIR bands from the near- to mid-IR, respectively. On the other hand, the UIR emission bands themselves offer a useful means to probe the physical conditions from which the band emission arises because each band is assigned to a specific C-H or C-C vibration mode and because its relative intensity should reflect the properties of the band carriers and the physical conditions of the environment. Here the two diagnostic methods using IR observations are briefly described together with examples of the observational results. Implications for the dust lifecycle are also discussed.


Author(s):  
Clément Baruteau ◽  
Gaylor Wafflard-Fernandez ◽  
Romane Le Gal ◽  
Florian Debras ◽  
Andrés Carmona ◽  
...  

Abstract Predicting how a young planet shapes the gas and dust emission of its parent disc is key to constraining the presence of unseen planets in protoplanetary disc observations. We investigate the case of a 2 Jupiter mass planet that becomes eccentric after migrating into a low-density gas cavity in its parent disc. Two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations are performed and post-processed by three-dimensional radiative transfer calculations. In our disc model, the planet eccentricity reaches ∼0.25, which induces strong asymmetries in the gas density inside the cavity. These asymmetries are enhanced by photodissociation and form large-scale asymmetries in 12CO J=3→2 integrated intensity maps. They are shown to be detectable for an angular resolution and a noise level similar to those achieved in ALMA observations. Furthermore, the planet eccentricity renders the gas inside the cavity eccentric, which manifests as a narrowing, stretching and twisting of iso-velocity contours in velocity maps of 12CO J=3→2. The planet eccentricity does not, however, give rise to detectable signatures in 13CO and C18O J=3→2 inside the cavity because of low column densities. Outside the cavity, the gas maintains near-circular orbits, and the vertically extended optically thick CO emission displays a four-lobed pattern in integrated intensity maps for disc inclinations $\gtrsim$ 30○. The lack of large and small dust inside the cavity in our model further implies that synthetic images of the continuum emission in the sub-millimetre, and of polarized scattered light in the near-infrared, do not show significant differences when the planet is eccentric or still circular inside the cavity.


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